NYT: Haniyeh Was Killed By A Bomb Israel Planted in Tehran Two Months Ago

Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed by a bomb Israeli intelligence planted at an official guest residency in Tehran about two months ago, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and had stayed at the guest residence on previous visits. The Times report, which cited five Middle East officials, two Iranian officials, and one American, said the bomb was detonated remotely when it was confirmed Haniyeh was in a room at the guest house.

The explosion killed Haniyeh and his bodyguard at about 2:00 am local time. Hamas officials initially said a missile struck the building, but there was no sign of Israeli warplane activity in the area.

Axios also reported Haniyeh was killed by a bomb planted at the guest house in advance by the Israeli spy agency Mossad. The residency was heavily guarded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), and the assassination demonstrates the Mossad’s deep reach within the Islamic Republic.

Israel has a history of conducting covert attacks inside Iran, including assassinations with gunmen, small drone attacks, and similar operations involving explosives. Israel has been responsible for several explosions inside Iran’s Natanz civilian nuclear facility.

According to an Israeli media report from 2021, Israeli intelligence made sure a marble foundation that was used for centrifuges in Natanz was packed with explosives during construction. A bomb was detonated at the facility in April 2021, which was meant to sabotage indirect negotiations between the US and Iran that resumed around the same time.

The Israeli killing of Haniyeh was likely designed to sabotage both ceasefire negotiations with Hamas and any chances of the US and Iran engaging in sanctions relief. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is considered a moderate, pledged to work to get sanctions lifted in his inauguration speech.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed Iran will take “revenge” for the assassination, and the Times reported that he has ordered a direct attack on Israel. The US is pledging to defend Israel from any attack that might come in response to the killing of Haniyeh or the strike in Beirut that killed a high-level Hezbollah commander.